Roman Catholicism maintains that the Roman Catholic Church was established by

Christ through the Apostle Peter as the first visible head. This is based on Matthew
16:18, when Jesus Christ said to Peter, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (NIV)

THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION:

The New International Version (NIV) was birthed in 1965 when a multi-
denominational, international group of scholars gathered at Palos Heights, Illinois, and
came to an agreement that a new translation of the Bible in contemporary English
language was greatly needed. The project was further endorsed a year later when a
vast number of church leaders met in Chicago in 1966.

According to The Moody Handbook of Theology, most non-Catholics would set the
official beginning of the Roman Catholic church in A.D.

590 with Pope Gregory I, who consolidated the lands controlled by authority of the
pope, and thus the church's power, into what would later be known as "the Papal
States."

Saint Gregory, pope, and confessor calls to mind the definitive role played by this
pope, known to the ages as Gregory the Great. In a time of political turmoil, Saint
Gregory (c. 540-604) assured the rights of the Church, and through his missionary
work, his writings on theology and morality, and his liturgical reforms (Gregorian chant
is named after him, and the Traditional Latin Mass took shape during his reign),
Gregory shaped the medieval Church for centuries to come.

In a time of similar turmoil, we turn to Saint Gregory the Great to guide and defend
the Catholic Church and the current pope from their enemies, both human and
spiritual.

The Papal States were territories in central Italy that were directly governed by the
papacy—not only spiritually, but in a temporal, secular sense. The extent of papal
control, which officially began in 756 and lasted until 1870, varied over the centuries,
as did the geographical boundaries of the region. Generally, the territories included
present day Lazio (Latium), Marche, Umbria, and part of Emilia-Romagna. The Papal
States were also known as the Republic of Saint Peter, Church States, and Pontifical
States; in Italian, Stati Pontifici or Stati della Chiesa.

HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

After the ascension of Jesus Christ, as the apostles began to spread the gospel and
make disciples, they provided the beginning structure for the early Christian Church.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the initial stages of the Roman Catholic
church from that of the early Christian church.

Simon Peter, one of Jesus' 12 disciples, became an influential leader in the Jewish
Christian movement. Later James, most likely Jesus' brother, took over leadership.
These followers of Christ viewed themselves as a reform movement within Judaism,
yet they continued to follow many of the Jewish laws.

At this time Saul, originally one of the strongest persecutors of the early Jewish
Christians, had a blinding vision of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and became
a Christian.

Adopting the name Paul, he became the greatest evangelist of the early Christian
church. Paul's ministry, also called Pauline Christianity, was directed mainly to
Gentiles rather than Jews. In subtle ways, the early church was already becoming
divided.Another belief system at this time was Gnostic Christianity, which taught that
Jesus was a spirit being, sent by God to impart knowledge to humans so that they
could escape the miseries of life on earth.

In addition to Gnostic, Jewish, and Pauline Christianity, there were already many
other versions of Christianity being taught. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the
Jewish Christian movement was scattered. Pauline and Gnostic Christianity were left
as the dominant groups.

The Roman Empire legally recognized Pauline Christianity as a valid religion in 313
AD. Later in that century, in 380 AD, Roman Catholicism became the official religion
of the Roman Empire. During the following 1000 years, Catholics were the only
people recognized as Christians.

In 1054 AD, a formal split occurred between the Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox churches. This division remains in effect today.

The next major division occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant
Reformation.

Those who remained faithful to Roman Catholicism believed that the central
regulation of doctrine by church leaders was necessary to prevent confusion and
division within the church and corruption of its beliefs.

THE CITY OF ROME

Location: The city was originally built on the Tiber River in the west-central region of
modern Italy, near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Rome has remained relatively
intact for thousands of years and still exists today as a major center of the modern
world.

Population: At the time Paul wrote the Book of Romans, the total population of that
city was around 1 million people. This made Rome one of the largest Mediterranean
cities of the ancient world, along with Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch in Syria,
and Corinth in Greece.

Politics: Rome was the hub of the Roman Empire, which made it the center of politics
and government. Fittingly, the Roman Emperors lived in Rome, along with the
Senate. All that to say, ancient Rome had a lot of similarities to modern-day
Washington D.C.

Culture: Rome was a relatively wealthy city and included several economic classes --
including slaves, free individuals, official Roman citizens, and nobles of different kinds
(political and military).

First-century Rome was known to be filled with all kinds of decadence and
immorality, from the brutal practices of the arena to sexual immorality of all kinds.

Religion: During the first century, Rome was heavily influenced by Greek Mythology
and the practice of Emperor worship (also known as the Imperial Cult).

Thus, most inhabitants of Rome were polytheistic -- they worshiped several different
gods and demigods depending on their own situations and preferences. For this
reason, Rome contained many temples, shrines, and places of worship without a
centralized ritual or practice. Most forms of worship were tolerated.

Rome was also a home to "outsiders" of many different cultures, including Christians
and Jews.

GNOSTICISM

Gnosticism was a second-century heresy claiming that salvation could be gained

through secret knowledge. Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis,
meaning "to know" or "knowledge."

Gnostics also believed that the created, material world (matter) is evil, and therefore
in opposition to the world of the spirit, and that only the spirit is good. They
constructed an evil God and beings of the Old Testament to explain the creation of
the world (matter) and considered Jesus Christ a wholly spiritual God.

Gnostic beliefs clash strongly with accepted Christian doctrine. Christianity teaches
that salvation is available to everyone, not just a special few and that it comes
from grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), and not from study or
works. The only source of truth is the Bible, Christianity asserts.

Gnostics were divided on Jesus. One view held that he only appeared to have human
form but that he was actually spirit only. The other view contended that his divine
spirit came upon his human body at baptism and departed before the crucifixion.
Christianity, on the other hand, holds that Jesus was fully man and fully God and that
his human and divine natures were both present and necessary to provide a suitable
sacrifice for humanity's sin.

The New Bible Dictionary gives this outline of Gnostic beliefs: "The supreme God
dwelt in unapproachable splendour in this spiritual world, and had no dealings with
the world of matter.
Until 1054 AD Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism were branches of the same
body—the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This date marks an important
moment in the history of all Christian denominations because it designates the very
first major division in Christianity and the beginning of "denominations."

ORIGIN OF EASTERN ORTHODOXY

All Christian denominations are rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and
share the same origins.

Early believers were part of one body, one church. However, during the ten centuries
following the resurrection, the church experienced many disagreements and
fractions. Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism were the results of these early
schisms.

THE WIDENING GAP

Disagreement between these two branches of Christendom had already long existed,
but the gap between the Roman and Eastern churches increased throughout the first
millennium with a progression of worsening disputes.

On religious matters, the two branches disagreed over issues pertaining to the nature
of the Holy Spirit, the use of icons in worship and the correct date for celebrating
Easter. Cultural differences played a major role too, with the Eastern mindset more
inclined toward philosophy, mysticism, and ideology, and the Western outlook guided
more by a practical and legal mentality.

This slow process of separation was encouraged in 330 AD when Emperor

Constantine decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire to the city of
Byzantium (Byzantine Empire, modern-day Turkey) and called it Constantinople.

When he died, his two sons divided their rule, one taking the Eastern portion of the
empire and ruling from Constantinople and the other taking the western portion, ruling
from Rome.

THE FORMAL SPLIT

In 1054 AD a formal split occurred when Pope Leo IX (leader of the Roman branch)
excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (leader of the
Eastern branch), who in turn condemned the pope in mutual excommunication.

Two primary disputes at the time were Rome's claim to a universal papal supremacy
and the adding of the filioque to the Nicene Creed. This particular conflict is also
known as the Filioque Controversy. The Latin word filioque means "and from the
Son." It had been inserted into the Nicene Creed during the 6th century, thus changing
the phrase about the origin of the Holy Spirit from "who proceeds from the Father" to
"who proceeds from the Father and the Son." It had been added to emphasize Christ's
divinity, but Eastern Christians not only objected to the altering of anything produced
by the first ecumenical councils, they disagreed with its new meaning. Eastern
Christians believe both the Spirit and the Son have their origin in the Father.
Protestantism is one of the major branches of Christianity today stemming
from the movement known as the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation
began in Europe in the early 16th century by Christians who opposed many of
the unbiblical beliefs, practices, and abuses taking place within the Roman
Catholic Church.

In a broad sense, present-day Christianity can be divided into three major

traditions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox.

Protestants make up the second largest group, with approximately 800

million Protestant Christians in the world today.

PROTESTANT REFORMATION:

The most notable reformer was German theologian Martin Luther (1483-
1546), often called the pioneer of the Protestant Reformation. He and many
other brave and controversial figures helped reshape and revolutionize the face
of Christianity.

Most historians mark the start of the revolution on October 31, 1517, when
Luther nailed his famous 95-Thesis to the University of Wittenburg's bulletin
board—the Castle Church door, formally challenging church leaders on the
practice of selling indulgences and outlining the biblical doctrine
of justification by grace alone.